Long Term Empty Properties and Second Homes

Councils classify some properties in their area as long term
empty, unoccupied, or second homes for the purposes of calculating
council tax liabilities. These statuses impact on the council tax
through exemptions for unoccupied properties, discounts for second
homes and some long term empty properties, or a levy for some long
term empty properties. As a result information on the numbers of
such properties is sourced from council tax statistics. It is
collected annually from local authorities and is available for:

Unoccupied Exemptions: generally properties
which are empty and unfurnished for less than 6 months and exempt
from paying council tax.

Long Term Empty Properties: properties which
have been empty for more than 6 months and are liable for council
tax. This includes properties empty for 12 months or more and
which may be subject to an additional levy of up to 100%
according to local authority policy.

Second Homes: homes which are furnished and
lived in for at least 25 days in a 12 month period but not as
someone's main residence. They are entitled to a council tax
discount of between 10% and 50%. In 2015/16, all local
authorities had opted for a 10% discount on second homes. As of
April 2017, local authorities will have the option to remove the
council tax discount on second homes.

Empty properties are of particular interest as they can help
increase the supply of occupied housing in Scotland when brought
back into use.

From 1st April 2013 local authorities gained the discretionary
power to remove the council tax discount associated with long term
empty properties or to set a council tax increase of 100% on
certain properties which have been empty for 12 months or more.
These changes, along with associated improvements in the data held
by local authorities, have led to the reclassification of a number
of properties between the long term empty and second home
categories. Some local authorities have also reported issues with
categorising properties on their management information systems
which may have impacted on the figures. This should be kept in mind
when comparing the numbers in recent years.

The latest figures, as at September 2016, show that there were
26,140 second homes, 44,296 unoccupied exemptions which have
generally been empty and unfurnished for less than 6 months, and
35,725 long term empty properties that had been empty for more than
6 months. Of those that had been empty for more than 6 months, over
half (20,784 or 58%) had been empty for over 12 months, and of
those 10,897 had a council tax discount below 10% or a council tax
increase applied under the new powers described above.

Chart 14: Long Term Empty Properties, Second Homes and
Unoccupied Exemptions, 2005 to 2016

Chart 14 above shows that, since 2005, the number of long term
empty properties has generally been on the rise, having more than
doubled over this period, however some of the rises in 2013 to 2015
will be due to the reclassification of some properties in the light
of the new powers described above. There has been a slight decrease
between 2015 and 2016. The number of second homes has remained more
steady until recently, with the reductions in 2013 to 2016 also
likely to be at least partly due to reclassification. The number of
unoccupied exemptions has remained relatively steady since 2005,
aside from a slight increase in 2008.

After a decrease between 2005 and 2006 the total number of long
term empty properties and second homes increased from 52,823 in
2006 to 66,053 in 2012 (13,230 dwellings or 25%). It has since
fallen to 59,763 in 2014 before increasing in 2016 to 61,865 (with
a slight peak of 63,736 in 2015). There has been a decrease in the
last year of 1,871 properties (3%). However, this change over time
should be interpreted with some caution; increases and decreases
can be caused in part by reclassification exercises which local
authorities carry out from time to time, or issues with management
information systems, rather than real changes in numbers of
properties.